Thursday, September 19, 2013

In the bleary-eyed wake of the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, rather than allow myself to drift off into a drooling brain-dead state of zombification from too many hours of high-velocity police chases through the streets of Los Santos, I have decided to make an effort to revive these pages. Keep my brain moving. Help to make myself feel a little better about the countless hours I'm sure to be wasting in the coming weeks and months in the pixelated gangster's paradise from the great people at Rockstar North.

So, I'm back bitches. Let's see how long The Ride lasts this time 'round.

And in the vein of new beginnings, of fresh outlooks, of silver linings - here is a delightful rag from the pages of The New York Times

In the first lengthy interview of his papacy, Pope Francis has expressed some very interesting opinions - though to be fair, they are only fresh and engaging when considering the source. In an effort to stage a departure from the church's history of moral discrimination and indoctrination, Pope Francis has taken a stance regarding acceptance and love for your fellow man that can only be described as...well, Christian. What a novel concept!

In a move that has caused waves of discontent to ripple through the lower offices of the church hierarchy, Francis has abandoned the hateful and discriminatory rhetoric that has been the root of centuries of subjugation and violence from the hands of the church in favor of a paradigm that, if you read The Book, much more closely follows the teachings of every hooker's best friend - Jesus Christ.

In a very progressive move for the head office of the Catholic Church, Francis was quoted as saying the following:

It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time...The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.

We have to find a new balance

Of course, as we all know, there is no time quite like the beginning of one's tenure in office to make outlandish claims that you have no intention of delivering on - just look at El Presidente. But still, I retain a spattering of naive hope for this. With attendance crashing and members of the flock fleeing the church in droves that can only compare to the locusts of Egypt, Francis is right about one thing - a new balance must be found if the Catholic Church is to have any hope of lasting another century - let alone another millenia. And while I know many would like to see the institution torn apart, brick by blood-soaked brick, I must admit it would be nice to see an abandonment of all the hypocrisy from an organization that professes to be founded on love and universal acceptance.

But with all things, only time will tell - eh, friends?

And with that long-winded ramble about nothing, here's a little something to bring a chuckle your way: